Index Pages

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Craft a Toy Animal Box With Moving Facial Features

Click to see a larger illustration.

Wagged from side to side by a pendulum, the head of this toy has interchangeable eyes, mouth, nose and ears, which can be used in various combinations to produce unusual facial expressions. Variations of these facial parts are shown in the squared detail. All parts have dowels attached for anchoring them in place, and they all fit in holes in the face except the ears, which slip into staples on the back of the head. The base for the head is a box with the front side painted to resemble the bars of a cage. As shown in the lower; left-hand detail, the head is attached off center to a dowel, which turns in a hole through the side of the box. Washers are used as spacers between the head, box and pendulum, which is fastened rigidly to the end of the dowel inside the box. The box of the original was painted yellow, bars black and face white with black features.